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Amazing pictures capture the rare river dolphin playing around in the Amazon
Last updated at 2:22 PM on 3rd October 2011
Incredibly rare pictures have emerged showing a playful pink river dolphin frolicking in Brazil.
These images show the agile eight-foot-long creature, also known as an Amazon river dolphin, in the country’s Negros River.
This potentially endangered aquatic mammal lives in such remote parts of the Amazon basin that scientists cannot be sure how many survive.
On camera: An extremely rare picture of a pink river dolphin in the Negros River, Brazil
World class photographer, television presenter and conservationist, Mark Carwardine, 52, from Bristol, travelled to deepest Brazil to investigate these charismatic creatures.
Their Chinese river dolphin cousins, the Yangtze river dolphin, became extinct in 2007 from the impact of pollution, habitat loss and overfishing.
‘Shooting at such close range gave me a chance to appreciate how strange they look – It was an experience I will never forget,’ said Mr Carwardine.
‘They were big animals and surprisingly boisterous.
‘They have tiny eyes and long, tooth-filled mouths angled upwards, which give the impression of permanent smiles.
Their bulging, chubby cheeks make them look like children with their mouths full.
‘These cheeks hamper their downward vision and may explain why they often swim upside-down.
‘They are called pink river dolphins because they blush when excited.’
While he was photographing the incredible 25-stone mammal, he was amazed to discover it flip onto its back and urinate over its own shoulder and out of the water.
‘One theory is they urinate on their backs to avoid the attentions of the candiru fish, a spiny, parasitic fish,’ Mr Carwardine said.
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